A three member-police investigation team was formed Thursday to probe the kidnapping of two Chinese nationals from Quetta and ensure their safe recovery as the Chinese foreign ministry asked Pakistani authorities to “take all necessary measures and do their best to rescue the kidnapped Chinese.”

Police sources told Dawn.com that Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Chief Aitzaz Goraya will lead the investigation.

The superintendent of police investigation and the superintendent of police, Saddar will be part of the investigation team.

On Wednesday evening, three unidentified armed men posing as cops had picked up two Chinese nationals — one man and one woman — from the Jinnah Town area of the city on Wednesday evening.

The kidnappers also tried to take away another Chinese woman but she ran away.

The kidnapped man and woman taught the Chinese language in a centre run by a Korean national.

According to sources, three people in a white car intercepted the Chinese nationals when they were leaving the language centre and forced them into the vehicle at gunpoint.

Citing witness accounts and closed-circuit television camera footage, police said the kidnappers were waiting in the car parked on the roadside.

On Thursday, Balochistan's Inspector General of Police Ahsan Mehboob visited the site of the incident and spoke to officials regarding to the kidnapping.

The IG and other senior officers also inspected the abductees' residence, located on Patel Road.

"A search operation is underway in various parts of Quetta for the recovery of Chinese nationals", Mehboob told reporters.

He added that security has been placed on high alert in Quetta to ensure an immediate recovery of Chinese nationals.

Mehboob told reporters that the kidnapped Chinese nationals had refused to take any security.

Senior police officers from investigation and CTD had accompanied the police chief.

All entry and exit points in Quetta have been manned and vehicles are being checked to ensure the recovery of the Chinese nationals, Mehboob said.

A case was registered against unknown accused at the Jinnah Town police station. Police sources said the case has been registered for terrorism, kidnapping and other crimes in the First Information Report (FIR).

Police and personnel of secret services thoroughly checked the area and spoke to nearby shopkeepers, residents and officials with regard to the incident.

"We shared whatever information we had with security officials and police," a young man working in a non-government organisation, who declined to be named, told Dawn.com.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the crime so far.

China asks Pakistan to 'take all necessary measures'

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China had asked Pakistani authorities to “take all necessary measures and do their best to rescue the kidnapped Chinese.”

Lu added that the two governments were coordinating to ensure the safety of other Chinese citizens in Pakistan.

Thousands of Chinese nationals work in Pakistan and have sometimes been targeted in attacks by anti-government militants.